2003 in pictures

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Feature story - 23 December, 2003

It was a tough year for the planet, and our retrospective shows plenty of cause for concern, but reason for hope and celebration as well. Look back at the protests against the war in Iraq where millions took to the streets, see how an Amazon community protected their forest land, witness the destruction of forest fires and floods in southern Europe in just 6 months and a birds eye view of protecting the tallest trees in the world.

View the complete slideshow and take a peek at the preview pictures below and follow the links for more on our campaign work this year.

The start of the year saw the gathering race to attack Iraq at
any cost so our flagship the Rainbow Warrior blocked the Marchwood
Military Port in Southampton while activists painted an
anti-war message on a military supply vessel.

The world's thirst for oil will continue to drive war, and Esso/Exxon will continue to
drive US climate policy, until we're weaned from our addiction to
fossil fuels.

In March citizens and students marched through the city centre
of Tokyo as part of the World Peace Now rally.

June - Girl standing outside the Al-Majidat school for girls
(900 pupils), next to the
Tuwaitha nuclear facility in Iraq. Dangerous nuclear material
have been left lying around the area, including near schools and
houses. US forces are doing nothing to clean up the highly
radioactive material.

August - Flames consume huge areas of forest in Montalvao,
Portugal. Portugal declared a national disaster after the
worst forest fires in more than two decades killed nine people,
torched thousands of hectares of forest and destroyed homes. Global
warming will increase the frequency and intensity of extreme
weather like droughts, floods and storms.

November - Activist climbs to the Global Rescue
Station, a platform built 65m up a tree in the Styx Valley,
Tasmania. The valley is home to some of the world's tallest trees
which are threatened with logging to turn them into wood chips.

December - Floods in southern France only months after a severe
drought and forest fires in the same area. Global warming, caused
by ever increasing consumption of fossil fuels like oil, means
extreme weather events are becoming more frequent.